A generation of young homeless people are putting themselves in danger of lasting social exclusion because of their alcohol misuse, according to a stark report today.

The Seeds of Exclusion report from the Salvation Army identified what it called "alarming" trends of self-medication with drink among the 18- to 25-year-old age group, when compared with older people helped at its centres around the country. Based on in-depth interviews with almost 1,000 people receiving homelessness assistance from the organisation across the UK, as well as assessments by clinical psychologists, it found that while alcohol dependency was high across all age groups, 18- to 25-year-old homeless people had the highest levels of alcohol addiction (66%).

Individuals within this group were particularly reluctant to face up to the fact that they had a drinking problem, the report said. Family instability and disruptive childhoods were singled out as factors driving young people's worrying behaviour, concluded researchers at the University of Kent and Cardiff University who carried out the report.

The study appears to back up findings from research published last month by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, which suggested that while binge drinking among teenagers appears to be declining, there is a core group for which excessive alcohol abuse is more entrenched.

"Those who had poor relationships with their parents during childhood were likely to have been homeless as children," said the Salvation Army report. "Just under half of the 18- to 25-year-old age group were homeless at some point in their childhood."

More than two-thirds (73%) of younger homeless people were from "non-traditional" families, compared to just a third of 45- to 55-year-olds. Drug misuse and mental health problems were also major factors but individuals of all ages were likely to underestimate the degree to which these had blighted their lives. It said a further cause for concern was the proportion of people across all generations who failed to receive treatment for underlying mental health problems.

Only 8% of respondents said unemployment was the primary reason for their homelessness, although financial factors were more frequently cited as a contributory factor by people in London (33%) than anywhere else in the UK. The majority of those who listed financial troubles were in the 45- to 55-year-old age group.

"The report reveals alarming trends in the lives of people who turn to the Salvation Army looking for a home," the organisation's director of programmes, Ian Barr, said. "This new report really does present new findings about why people become socially excluded. We see too many victims of an excessive drinking and drug culture. Seeds of Exclusion emphasises the importance of intervention to help people at all levels."